Probe continues into deadly crash involving teen, officer

A Westminister police officer was placed on administrative leave after a pursuit that ended with a deadly crash early Friday morning.

Investigators said Jesse Logan Hannah, 14, of Seneca, was driving a car and had three teenage passengers.

Chief Dean Awalt of the Westminster Police Department said the vehicle caught the attention of an officer when it went through a red light on Highway 123. Awalt said the officer attempted to pull the car over, but it kept going.

"The chase took place on (Highway) 24 until it hit right there near Eva Frank (Lane)," Awalt told WYFF. "We do not have a no-chase policy. We have a policy that gives them certain guidelines that officers have to follow."

Awalt said the officer was placed on administrative leave as an internal probe and an investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol continues.

Hannah's family said they have many questions about what happened because they do not believe the teenager would have attempted to drive someone else's car.

"This wasn’t the type of kid he was. He’s never been in trouble for anything before except being late for school," Angela Lowery, Hannah's cousin, told WYFF. "He wasn’t a daredevil at all. We even tried to get him to drive in a field and he wouldn’t even do that."

Lowery said Hannah had been spending the night with friends when the incident happened.

"I think somebody needs to be held responsible for what happened," Lowery said.

A school official at West Oak High, where Hannah was a ninth-grader, said the teen was a very popular student. Guidance counselors were made available to students who wanted to talk about Hannah's death.

A memorial service at the Sandifer Funeral Home in Westminster is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Copyright 2013 byWYFF All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use. WYFF News 4 offers readers the ability to comment on stories with the understanding that these comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or used on WYFF News 4 newscasts. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, comments that don’t relate to the story, and any personal remarks. THIS IS IMPORTANT: WYFF News 4 does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not, at times, find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable or offensive, click the flag that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. Flagged comments may be automatically hidden from comment threads. For comments to appear on the website and/or mobile app, email addresses must be verified through Disqus. We ask the community to monitor this forum with the knowledge that WYFF News 4 does not delete posts based on the content. We are glad to offer commenting on our site but we cannot be responsible for people who abuse the privilege.

The Obama administration will unveil a major climate change plan Monday aimed at a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's coal-burning power plants, a senior administration official told CNN.